Chapter Summaries

Yushu accepted Silver’s challenge and Mudkip defeated Totodile with Ancient Power and Yawn. Silver returned Totodile’s Poké Ball, but it released a cloud of black smoke that left Yushu unable to see.

• Totodile taunted Mudkip into a battle, and Yushu accepted Silver’s challenge to defend his new Pokémon.
• Yushu’s Pokémon gathered to watch as Professor Elm let the battle proceed between Mudkip and Totodile.
• Mudkip countered Totodile’s attacks with Rock Smash and Ancient Power, surprising Silver with his Egg Move.
• Mudkip used Yawn at close range, putting Totodile to sleep and giving Mudkip the victory.
• Silver tossed Totodile’s Poké Ball to Yushu, but it opened and released black smoke that engulfed the area.

Yushu left New Bark Town for Azalea Town after Professor Elm gave him a Soothe Bell, then used his new Rotom Phone to reassure Cynthia and recount his adventures. Their call ended abruptly when a Pidgeot swooped at Yushu, who dodged its attack.

• Professor Elm let Silver escape with Totodile, and Silver vowed to defeat Yushu the next time they met.
• Professor Elm gave Yushu a Soothe Bell and warned him not to catch Bellsprout near Bellsprout Tower.
• Yushu left New Bark Town, hung the Soothe Bell around Kirlia's neck, and continued toward Azalea Town.
• Rotom merged with Yushu's phone, allowing him to make a video call to Cynthia from the wilderness.
• Yushu told Cynthia about his travels and encounters with Legendary Pokémon, and she said she hoped to visit Johto.
• A Pidgeot suddenly dived at Yushu, but he dodged it after Cynthia warned him.

Yushu visited the Violet Gym after Falkner’s Pidgeot nearly hit him, then agreed to enter Violet City’s annual Flying Contest. At the contest, Yushu spotted Silver among the contestants, and the opening group began its match with Falkner’s Pidgeot, leaving Yushu waiting backstage.

• Cynthia ended her call with Yushu when Lucian summoned her to approve Pokémon League documents.
• Falkner apologized after his Pidgeot flew too low near Yushu and invited him to the Violet Gym.
• Falkner told Yushu about Violet City’s Flying Contest and arranged for him to enter with his Staraptor.
• Yushu arrived at the crowded contest the next day, saw Silver among the contestants, and decided he wanted the first-place Sharp Beak for Staraptor.
• Falkner opened the contest by entering the first group with his Pidgeot, while the other contestants sent out a Fearow, a Beedrill, and a Hoppip.

Yushu entered the Flying Contest with Staraptor and faced Kiko, who sought revenge on Falkner after losing to him before. Staraptor seized the ring and outmaneuvered Kiko’s Charizard, then turned to battle it head-on as the chapter ended with Hurricane overpowering Flamethrower.

• Falkner’s Pidgeot defeated Fearow with Hurricane and Aerial Ace, then won the first group’s ring challenge.
• Silver used Murkrow’s Tailwind and Taunt to win the second group.
• Yushu entered the third group alongside Kiko, the Charizard Valley caretaker seeking revenge on Falkner, and their Pokémon began the contest.
• Kiko’s Charizard used Flamethrower to drive back the other contestants, but Yushu’s Staraptor secretly grabbed the ring first.
• Staraptor flew toward the hook at remarkable speed, and Falkner suspected it was controlling airflow around itself.
• Kiko provoked Yushu into turning Staraptor to face Charizard, and Staraptor’s Hurricane blew apart Charizard’s Flamethrower.

Yushu defeated Kiko with Staraptor, then faced Falkner, Silver, and Alun in the flying competition’s final round. While Staraptor and Pidgeot battled fiercely, Alun and Silver fought over the ring, leaving the competition unresolved.

• Yushu used Staraptor’s flame-empowered Brave Bird to knock Charizard down, then secured the ring and defeated Kiko.
• Yushu, Silver, Falkner, and Alun advanced to the final, where their Staraptor, Murkrow, Pidgeot, and Skarmory faced off.
• Staraptor and Pidgeot traded rapid attacks as Yushu and Falkner battled for aerial dominance.
• Alun sent Skarmory for the ring while Yushu and Falkner were occupied, but Silver intercepted it with Murkrow.
• Skarmory countered Murkrow’s Night Shade with Flash Cannon, then struck back against its Wing Attack with Steel Wing.

Silver briefly stole the ring while Alun's Skarmory remained confused, but Falkner and Yushu joined forces to eliminate him, and Alun withdrew. In the final battle, Yushu's Staraptor defeated Falkner's Pidgeot and secured the Flying Contest victory.

• Silver used Murkrow's Confuse Ray to disorient Alun's Skarmory, then grabbed the ring and flew toward the hook.
• Falkner and Yushu stopped fighting and sent Staraptor and Pidgeot after Murkrow, knocking away the ring and eliminating Silver.
• Alun recalled his confused Skarmory and accepted third place, leaving Falkner and Yushu as the final contestants.
• Falkner and Yushu launched a fierce battle between Pidgeot and Staraptor, with Pidgeot initially overpowering Staraptor with Brave Bird.
• Staraptor countered with Close Combat and Hurricane, leaving Pidgeot disoriented while Staraptor retrieved the ring and placed it on the hook.
• The host announced Yushu as the Flying Contest winner.

After the Flying Contest, Falkner invited Yushu and Kiko to dinner, but Yushu found the restaurant’s menu unappealing and offered to cook instead. He prepared four dishes in the restaurant kitchen, impressing the chefs and leaving Falkner and Kiko eager to eat.

• Falkner invited Yushu and Kiko to dinner in Violet City after the Flying Contest.
• Yushu declined to order from the menu and asked to cook, while Kiko questioned whether he could do more than throw something together.
• Falkner arranged for Yushu to use the restaurant kitchen, and Kiko joined them to watch.
• Yushu made dry-braised shrimp, shredded pork with green peppers, and sweet-and-sour pork, drawing praise from the watching chefs.
• Yushu finished a plate of mapo tofu as the kitchen staff admired its aroma.

Yushu impressed Falkner and Kiko with his cooking, then explained that battling was only his hobby and that ranching and breeding were his main jobs. He prepared custom meals for their Pokémon and his own, leaving Falkner and Kiko amazed as the Pokémon eagerly devoured them.

• Yushu served Falkner and Kiko four dishes, and they praised the food after finishing every plate.
• Yushu told Falkner and Kiko he planned to visit Azalea Town to find Shuckle for his ranch and clarified that ranching and breeding were his main professions.
• To demonstrate his expertise, Yushu asked what Falkner's and Kiko's Pokémon liked to eat, then prepared tailored meals for Pidgeot, Lisa, and his own Pokémon.
• Pidgeot and Lisa eagerly ate Yushu's cooking, while his Pokémon enjoyed their own dishes.
• Falkner praised Yushu's cooking, and Kiko took a photo of Lisa eating, prompting Lisa to react in dismay.

Yushu and Luxray intervened when Pinsir attacked Heracross on Route 33, then found a much larger battle between the two groups. The Pinsir leader challenged the Heracross leader to a duel under the wild Pokémon’s rules, and the Heracross leader accepted despite being outmatched.

• Yushu rode Luxray into a Berry grove and used Thunderbolt to stop Pinsir from attacking a young Heracross.
• Luxray knocked out the Pinsir leader’s subordinate with Wild Charge, sending the remaining Pinsir fleeing.
• The young Heracross led Yushu to a larger battle, where the Pinsir group had the advantage over the Heracross.
• Yushu used Luxray’s Thunder to separate the groups, intending to recruit Heracross to help at his ranch.
• The Pinsir leader demanded a duel with the Heracross leader, who accepted because refusing would cost its group the territory.

Yushu recruited Heracross from the leader’s swarm by offering work, food, housing, and Honey, then taught the leader a strategy to defeat Pinsir. In the next day’s duel, Heracross used Rock Slide to wear Pinsir down, while Pinsir grew furious and kept charging.

• The Heracross leader hesitated over whether to flee or fight Pinsir, and Yushu offered to help if it let him recruit several members of the swarm to work at his ranch.
• Yushu showed the Heracross Honey, prompting many of them to volunteer to join him, then explained how the leader could use its Guts Ability with a Flame Orb and attack Pinsir with Rock Slide before striking with Megahorn.
• The Heracross leader accepted Yushu’s battle plan, and the two swarms gathered the next morning for their duel.
• Pinsir charged first, but the Heracross leader dodged and struck it with Rock Slide, exploiting its Bug-type weakness.
• The Heracross leader kept retreating and pelting Pinsir with Rock Slide, while the increasingly wounded Pinsir lost its temper and taunted it to fight head-on.

Yushu helped the Heracross leader defeat the Pinsir leader, then took the entire tribe of twenty-five Heracross to his ranch. He arrived in Azalea Town and visited Azalea Gym to speak with Bugsy, who said the Gym was closed to challengers.

• The Heracross leader activated Guts and defeated the Pinsir leader with a series of powerful Megahorn attacks, winning the orchard territory for his tribe.
• Yushu agreed to take the Heracross tribe, and all twenty-five members—including their leader—chose to join him for the promise of Honey.
• Aili released the Pokémon sent by Yushu and discovered that he had sent her a whole tribe of Heracross, while Shuren guessed that Yushu had robbed one.
• Yushu rode Luxray to Azalea Town, where he encountered Slowpoke throughout the streets and followed the locals’ custom of giving them way.
• Yushu visited Azalea Gym and told Bugsy he wanted to talk, not challenge the Gym.

Yushu asked Bugsy to sell him Shuckle for his Sinnoh ranch, but Bugsy required him to prove his character in a battle. Yushu defeated Bugsy’s Beedrill with Mudkip, who evolved into Marshtomp, while the Shuckle deal remained undecided.

• Yushu told Bugsy he wanted Shuckle for gathering Berries and making juice at his ranch, and Bugsy insisted on judging his character through a battle.
• Bugsy sent out his Beedrill, and Yushu chose Mudkip to face it.
• Beedrill trapped Mudkip with specially trained String Shot and struck it with Pin Missile, but Yushu ordered Mudkip to use Supersonic and counter with Water Gun.
• Yushu had Mudkip finish Beedrill with Ancient Power, winning the first round of Bugsy’s test.
• Mudkip evolved into Marshtomp, and Yushu congratulated his newly evolved Pokémon.

Yushu’s newly evolved Marshtomp struggled against Bugsy’s web-controlling Ariados, so Yushu switched to Combusken, which defeated Ariados with its speed and firepower. Bugsy then sent out his much stronger Scyther, and Combusken was left dodging its increasingly powerful attacks.

• Bugsy’s Ariados trapped Marshtomp in a tough web and struck it with attacks from multiple directions.
• Yushu recalled Marshtomp and sent out his Shiny Combusken, explaining that Cynthia had given it to him.
• Combusken burned through Ariados’s web, then knocked Ariados out with a boosted Blaze Kick.
• Bugsy sent out his late-Elite Scyther, which cut through Combusken’s Flame Charge and pressed its attack.
• Scyther deflected Combusken’s Flamethrower with Swords Dance and attacked with a stronger Fury Cutter while Combusken dodged using Speed Boost.

Yushu defeated Bugsy’s Scyther by exploiting a blind spot in Swords Dance, then toured Bugsy’s indoor Bug-type ecological park and sampled Shuckle-brewed Berry Juice. The chapter left Yushu considering how he could use the juice to develop a new line of Pokéblocks.

• Yushu had Combusken use Fire Spin as armor and Flame Charge to clash with Scyther, while Bugsy countered with Swords Dance.
• Yushu spotted a blind spot above Scyther during Swords Dance and had Combusken strike it with Blaze Kick, then follow up to defeat Scyther.
• Bugsy led Yushu through his Gym’s ecological park, where he explained his admiration for Bug-type Pokémon and introduced him to the Shuckle.
• A Shuckle reached out to Yushu, and Bugsy noted that it seemed to trust him.
• Bugsy prepared diluted Shuckle-brewed Berry Juice for Yushu to taste, and Yushu considered using it to develop a new Pokéblock product line.

Yushu used Bugsy’s Shuckle-brewed Berry Juice to make delicious Pokéblocks, then negotiated to take twenty Shuckle from Bugsy. He traded Bugsy a natural Metal Coat, and began selecting the Shuckle as Bugsy watched them leave with mixed feelings.

• Yushu made Pokéblocks with Bugsy’s Berry Juice concentrate, and Vespiquen, Shuckle, and Scyther eagerly ate them.
• Yushu explained that Shuckle-brewed Berry Juice improved Pokéblocks and made them easier to prepare.
• Yushu asked to take twenty Shuckle, and Bugsy hesitated because they were rare and difficult to raise.
• Yushu showed Bugsy a natural Metal Coat, which Bugsy wanted for evolving his Scyther into Scizor.
• Bugsy agreed to trade the Metal Coat for the Shuckle, and Yushu began choosing the adults to take.

Yushu traded his Bug-type Pokéblock recipe to Bugsy for a Spinarak breeding notebook and bought twenty young Spinarak, hoping to produce tough silk for ranch-made goods. Back at Freewill Ranch, Shuren and Aili received the new Pokémon alongside the twenty Shuckle, leaving Shuren to consider expanding the orchard to feed them all.

• Yushu negotiated with Bugsy, exchanging his Bug-type Pokéblock recipe for Bugsy’s Spinarak-raising notes and silk diet formula.
• Yushu learned about Bugsy’s costly advanced silk formula, then agreed to buy twenty newly hatched Spinarak for five thousand Alliance Currency each.
• In Solaceon Town, Aili complained when twenty Shuckle arrived at the ranch through the transporter.
• Aili and Shuren watched another batch of twenty Spinarak appear, and Shuren decided the orchard needed to expand to feed the growing ranch population.

Bugsy used the Metal Coat Yushu gave him to evolve Scyther into a remarkably fast Scizor, then thanked Yushu for the trade. Meanwhile, Yushu talked Aili into keeping the forty Pokémon he had sent to the ranch by listing how they could help, and promised her a Pokéblock recipe.

• Bugsy placed the Metal Coat against Scyther and sent it through the trade machine to trigger its evolution.
• Scyther emerged as a Scizor, and it demonstrated that its speed and agility had improved rather than diminished.
• Bugsy thanked Yushu for the Metal Coat, but refused to give him more Shuckle in return.
• Aili called Yushu and angrily complained that he had sent forty Pokémon for her to care for.
• Yushu explained how Pelipper, Wingull, Heracross, and Shuckle could help at the ranch, persuading Aili to keep looking after them.
• Yushu promised to send Aili a Pokéblock recipe and told her to follow it strictly for Spinarak’s diet.

Yushu agreed to attend the ranch gathering at Moomoo Farm and decided to visit Kurt in Azalea Town to commission handmade Poké Balls. As Bugsy brought him to Kurt’s home, they were stopped by Kurt’s granddaughter, Maizie.

• Aili told Yushu that Mayor Zongping had invited his ranch to a gathering at Moomoo Farm, and Yushu agreed to attend and buy more Miltank.
• Yushu told Bugsy he would remain in Johto, accepted Bugsy’s offer of a guest room, and asked him to take him to Kurt’s home.
• Bugsy agreed to take Yushu to Kurt after Yushu agreed to settle their dispute over the Metal Coat.
• Bugsy told Yushu the story of Slowpoke Well and explained that Kurt’s family had guarded it for generations.
• Yushu and Bugsy reached Kurt’s home, where Yushu saw Apricorn trees and learned that Kurt lived with his granddaughter, Maizie.
• Maizie appeared and asked Yushu and Bugsy whether they had an appointment to see her grandfather.

Yushu visited Mr. Kurt with Bugsy and won the master Poké Ball smith’s approval, earning permission to take Apricorn Fruits for several Poké Balls. As Yushu picked a black Apricorn, a gigantic Slowbro appeared, startling Maizie.

• Bugsy introduced Yushu to Maizie, who led them to Mr. Kurt’s workshop.
• Yushu introduced himself as Professor Rowan’s student and asked Mr. Kurt to make him Poké Balls.
• Mr. Kurt offered to make the Poké Balls for free and sent Maizie to let Yushu pick Apricorn Fruits.
• Yushu chose to take Apricorn Fruits of every kind, while Bugsy was allowed only one and picked a green one.
• A huge Slowbro approached as Yushu reached for a black Apricorn, and Maizie exclaimed at its size.

Yushu, Bugsy, and Maizie confronted Cassidy and Butch, who were using a Slowbro machine to capture Slowpoke and sell their tails. When Cassidy and Butch refused to stop, Yushu and Bugsy prepared to battle them.

• Yushu, Bugsy, and Maizie spotted a giant Slowbro machine marked with Team Rocket’s R, towing a cage packed with Slowpoke.
• Maizie blocked the machine, and Cassidy and Butch emerged to introduce themselves with an awkward Team Rocket pose.
• Cassidy and Butch admitted they had tricked Azalea Town’s residents into loading the Slowpoke and planned to sell their tails.
• Yushu asked about Team Rocket’s finances, and Butch revealed headquarters was spending heavily on a secret laboratory project.
• Cassidy threatened the group, so Yushu sent out Marshtomp and Bugsy sent out Scizor while Cassidy and Butch released Houndour and Hitmontop.